Fighter jets good - health care, not so much

Are Canadians beginning to get the message? Today it was announced that "Ottawa", ie Harper and his government of thugs and scoundrels, will spend $16 billion on an untendered contract with Lockheed Martin for 65 new fighter jets, after recently spending $2.6 billion upgrading existing jets. Does anyone still think we're going to be getting out of Afghanistan, as promised, in 2011?

At the same time, mini-minister of finance, Flim-Flam Jim scolded the provinces for their "rampant" spending on health care. "This is an issue that needs to be grappled with," he told New Brunswick's Telegraph Journal. You know what really needs to be grappled with? His boss's bullshit priorities.

All the relief I felt when the Repuglicans were defeated south of the border has been replaced by dismay over the continued presence of Harper and his goon squad of recycled Mike Harris incompetents, used car dealers, ambulance chasers, xenophobes and religious wing-nuts.

Harper's "hidden agenda" is becoming less hidden by the day. When are Canadians going to awaken from their collective stupor and bring this government down?

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Cons try to block G20 hearings - it's deja vu all over again

So much so that I can barely summon the energy to write about it. But then, that would play right into their hands wouldn't it? A scenario in which people become so disgusted with politics that they simply disengage, when what we need to do is engage fully, and vote these conniving slime balls out on their collective asses at the earliest opportunity.

So, yeah, here we go again with another attempt by the Cons to block a hearing, this one into their G20 malfeasance, that saw the largest sum ever spent on security at any summit in the history of the world and the largest mass arrests in the history of Canada. Over $1 billion spent, over 1000 arrests made = $1 million per arrest. Priceless!

And wouldn't you know it, the now-standard "you must support the bad guys" canard was trotted out by former used car salesman Dean Del Maestro thusly: “I don’t agree with the NDP and the fact it seems to be lining itself up with anarchist groups that went to Toronto and caused damage.” I mean really, how do these guys manage to keep a straight face? And who are the poor benighted fools that believe this tripe?

Tory committee chairman Garry Breitkreuz allowed MPs to fill the time with incoherent ranting and refused a Liberal request for unanimous consent to move to the vote. In the end, the filibuster ran out the clock and no vote on whether to launch a probe was held.

“I think the government doesn’t want to have an inquiry, they’re hoping the summer is going to wash this all away,” said Liberal MP Mark Holland. “Their refusal to have a vote, their filibustering I think is evidence that they’ve got a lot to hide.” reports the Montreal Gazette. He added that they have already drafted the request to call a second meeting, which would then have to take place within 5 days.

The good news in all of this? Politicians unable to get away to their cottages. That calls for another beer!

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Maclean's Magazine - WTF???

I dunno, maybe I'm late to the party, the right-wing party going on at Macleans. I have to confess I quit reading years ago because of the smarmy idiocy of a certain Lady Black, and the sycophantic puff pieces by professional groupie Peter Newman. So yeah, I guess I've known for years that they leaned right. But yesterday a free issue showed up at my door, so, silly me, I opened it, only to find that in the interim they've leaned so far that they've fallen right over the railing - mag overboard! - into the tar and tea-bag stained waters of the right-wing Kafka revival.

First they named John Baird as parliamentarian of the year. Really Macleans? John Baird. The screaming pitbull of parliamentary destruction whose mental toolbox consists of a big monkey wrench and whose constipated countenance resembles nothing more that a sandbox bully in full meltdown  - that's your choice?

Then there was this incredible article about Rand Paul, discussing in complete seriousness his opportunity to become the first US politician to found an anti-government dynasty. Scanning, scanning for irony… nope. Reading closer now, looking for a mention of his racist politics. Not finding it. I mean Rand Paul is the guy causing a shitstorm in the US media because he thinks property rights should allow business owners to decline service to anyone they don't like the look of…. people whose skin is, you know, not white.

So what's up? Why the omission? Do they think it's an irrelevant fact, unnecessary knowledge up here in comfy, complacent Canada? Are we not on the need to know list? Do they think we don't have access to US news, or that newfangled gadget, the "internets"?

Jeezus. I can't even take a dump in peace anymore.
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Understanding Conservative sign language

"Look at me. I said. Look. At. Me."
"No, no, no, nothing to see here..."
"Moi? You dare to question moi?"
"Grrrrr! Arf! Arf! Grrrrr!"
"Mr. Speaker, There is absolutely no truth to the baseless rumours that I have a very small penis!"
"I'm Stockwell Day and I am a religious nut case."
"But, but... adscam."
"Golly. Math is hard."
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